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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. snap — to click
  3. key — for a lock
  4. face — to confront
  5. ball — a great time
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cap — a hat
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. spring — the season
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. face — to point toward
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. key — the most important part
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — of water
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com